Sunday, June 5 2005 14:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hyderabad: Hailing TDP's (Telugu Desam Party) success at retaining the Penukonda Assembly seat in Andhra Pradesh, newly elected legislator P Sunita today (Jun 5, 2005) said the seat could be won due to the "good work" of her husband and slained party MLA from the constituency, Paritala Ravindra.

Reacting to the by-election results, Sunita, who has won the seat against Congress candidate B Sriramulu by over 18,000 votes, said the result was a "slap on the face of Congress".

"Congress, which is in power in the State, had used different methods, including corruption and intimidation of voters. But, the voters, who always stood by TDP, gave a befitting reply to Congress by rejecting it with a considerable margin", she added.

However, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who is in Vijayawada, told news channels that though TDP has won the seat, "This is our moral victory".

"We unsuccessfully pleaded with the Opposition TDP to desist from nominating persons from factional background. But, it did so, keeping alive the factional politics in the area".

Penukonda Assembly elections were necessitated due to the killing of TDP MLA Paritala Ravindra in January last.